Though it doesn’t mean as much as it used to with so many officials working multiple major conferences, this game appears to have been assigned by the Big East supervisor. Working the game will be Jim Burr, John Cahill, and Sean Hull.

FIRST HALF

17:15-Austin Freeman lets go of a shot on a drive shortly before committing a run-over. By rule the bucket counts. Jim Burr was all over it.

15:58-Neat play for some perspective. Kyle Singler leaves a thirteen-footer way short, then hesitates in frustration for only a moment before sprinting all the way down court, only to find that Monroe still beat him easily for a transition lay-up. Think about that the next time you see an official well-positioned near the baseline waiting for a fast-break play to come to him. It’s not that they always get there, but the fact that they often do speaks to the anticipation skills and hustle most of these guys exhibit.

15:16-Monroe gets dinged for an illegal screen, a little-advertised point of emphasis this season. It’s still not being called enough, but Monroe really put a sign on his back here that said “Fouling.” Not only was he not stationary on the screen, but he also drew attention to himself by not taking a direct line to the defender he was screening. Rather than going to the spot that he could legally occupy and hoping the screen was effective he became preoccupied with making solid contact regardless of what it took. Again, this play is let go a lot, but not because it’s not a foul.

14:13-With the shot-clock winding down Paulus penetrates and dishes to an open Zoubek, but Brian brings the ball down and has the ball dislodged, eventually leading to a tie-up with Wattad. Couldn’t tell whether he might have been grabbed a little on the initial strip, but bigs aren’t going to get that call after bringing the ball down unnecessarily, as officials are loathe to bail out players on bad plays.

12:22-The home crowd’s booing but that’s a give-away foul by Zoubek. Shot-clock is running down so you know Monroe’s going to try to score from the left baseline. Monroe is much quicker so if he gets any kind of an opening, he’s going to the hole, and if he gets impeded or knocked off-course he’s going to draw the foul. Zoubek doesn’t waste any time committing the foul as Monroe gets a little bit of a smack in the head on the attempted drive. Easy foul to call.

11:57-Lance Thomas gave away a potential offensive rebound here by trying to dribble the loose ball rather than snatching it. Probably won’t count as an official turnover, though it should since it’s so similar in form to Zoubek’s giveaway at 14:13. Duke is going to cost itself a possession or two on tie-ups if it’s not stronger with the basketball.

11:49-Paulus gets knocked down but should have been whistled for a foul as he challenges the lay-up by Freeman.

11:39-Media time-out. The thinking here is that Georgetown is winning because they’ve been tougher and more disciplined. The crew will probably look for Duke to crank up the defensive intensity, especially on the perimeter. Officials don’t anticipate particular calls, but they’re always trying to anticipate the next play. But I’ll go ahead and say that a Duke hand-check foul in the next couple of GU possessions wouldn’t shock me. Experienced coaches understand this type of thinking on the part of officials and instruct their charges accordingly.

10:27-Thomas rebounds and does better with the ball than last time, but as he takes it up toward the rim still doesn’t shield it from Sapp, who spikes it cleanly from behind on the shot attempt. Sapp was in awful position here, as he was committed to dropping the hammer even as he was coming down. If Thomas had used his body properly he would have assured a foul on Sapp.

9:46-Monroe knocks away an entry-pass to Thomas leading to a three-on-two dunk for Georgetown. This looked like a pretty good play from Monroe, but one thing is for certain: had Thomas played stronger on the plays already mentioned he might have received the benefit of a call there. But when in doubt, officials (who are people, too) tend to default to what’s commonplace; and what’s been common here is soft play from Thomas.

8:42-Summers gets an offensive rebound by fighting for the ball as three white shirts stand and watch. This is one of those plays that tends to stick in an official’s mind. It’s fitting a pattern here of Georgetown being the team that is working harder. And it shouldn’t come as news that the harder-working team will, over time, get the benefit of more close calls.

8:17-Sapp bowls over Scheyer for the charge. Easy play to call. Scheyer just settles into a position and essentially says to Sapp, “Try to go around me if you want, but I’m going to be here.” First really solid defensive play Duke’s made in a while. We’ll see if it changes the rhythm of the game much.

7:30-Plumlee ends up hitting an open wing jumper, but at this moment in the game I’m not sure it’s such a great play for Duke. Consider that on the previous possession Singler had a drive stopped by a blocked shot by Vaughn. The next time down, Plumlee actually gets an early touch in the post, but, played close from behind by Vaughn, kicks out to Scheyer like the ball is on fire. Duke isn’t making Georgetown work nearly hard enough defensively to get to the line with any consistency, much less put the Hoyas in foul trouble. What’s called for here is for someone to make a strong move in the post and force a Hoya to make a real decision, because right now this officiating crew has no conception of what a Georgetown post foul looks like. The longer this continues the less likely Duke will be to cause Coach Thompson to have to think much about his big men.

6:27-Yep. Though the scoreboard may not reflect it, Georgetown is dictating how this game is called-and there’s nothing at all wrong with that. Summers came out beyond the three-point line to challenge Plumlee on the ball and reached in and grabbed at the ball. Plumlee’s face and body language clearly indicated that he was expecting the whistle to be a foul call, but Sean Hull called a tie-up. Plumlee may well have been fouled, but I put that turnover on the entire team for the way they’ve been outfought this half, causing the crew’s default thought to be “good play by the Georgetown defense.”

6:15-Greg Anthony says “tough break for Duke” on the Henderson kicked-ball call. Henderson’s reaction tells me all I need to know about that play. There’s acting to sell a play, and then there’s the kind of complete, instantaneous incredulity Henderson just displayed. The latter simply can’t be feigned.

6:14-Blocking foul called on Plumlee trying to check Monroe at the elbow. I’d like to see this play develop a little more before there’s a whistle, but we’re now watching a game with a clear rhythm, a rhythm established by and now benefitting Georgetown. Those moments when people say Duke gets all the calls? It’s often because they’re playing like Georgetown is playing right now: smarter, tougher, and more aggressively than their opponents.

6:03-Nolan Smith rotates nicely, absorbing the blow from the driving Monroe, and it’s an easy offensive foul call. Because of its sluggish play, that’s the level of “obvious” that Duke needs in order to get a whistle right now. As Monroe sits, we’ll see if that translates to any more aggressiveness from Duke in the post.

5:45-How about that. Plumlee gets solid post position, then gets the call on the reach-over/grab by Henry Sims. Greg Anthony reminds us that Monroe’s not in the game anymore, but I don’t think Plumlee needs reminding.

2:51-Media time-out follows a highly questionable foul called from distance on McClure, but that’ a minor issue compared to what everyone now sees as the entire ballgame: Greg Monroe. When he was in the game the officials actually had to work. Since going to the bench after his second foul, Georgetown has gotten nothing in the post and they’ve become even more reliant on perimeter jumpers. On the other end, Monroe’s absence has allowed Duke to go small, so Georgetown is having to guard all over the court, creating much better spacing for Duke and some better perimeter looks, in addition to the Plumlee play and one lay-up off of penetration. Henderson’s on fire right now, too, but that won’t be nearly as long-lasting as the impact Monroe’s presence and absence have on the game.-And it appears I’m not alone, as JTIII is sending Monroe and his two fouls back in for what he hopes will be the rest of the half.

2:29-Monroe challenges Singler on a jumper and forces a miss. Every play the rest of the half involving Monroe has now become crucial for the crew and the game.

1:59-I was just thinking about one of the reasons Monroe is such a tough match for his opponents: his length allows him to have a tremendous impact on the game without putting himself at risk of many fouls…on defense. Say what you want about his just-committed third foul (I think it was a good call): the Georgetown staff understand better than I do what I just wrote about his game, and his explicit instructions when coming off the bench should have included the words, “Be careful on any drives to the basket. We’ve talked about Duke’s help defense.”

HALF-TIME

Solid work by the crew. Though Georgetown played better for most of the half, from an officiating perspective the teams have made this an easy game to call. Cutters have been allowed to move without being held or chucked, post play hasn’t been overly physical. It’s helped that Duke wasn’t very aggressive for the majority of the half. Monroe’s three fouls are big right now, but all of the whistles against the big guy have been solid, so there’s no need to try to do anything different in the second half.

The prediction here is that Monroe doesn’t miss any more time this game due to fouls. He won’t commit any more on the offensive end, and he’ll play conservatively on defense. Of course, Duke will look to penetrate more, so things could end up washing.

On the Georgetown offensive end, there’s not that much to say. Monroe’s presence creates spacing for the Hoyas that makes their offense smooth and efficient, which is synonymous with easy-to-referee. Monroe only has two points in the paint out of half-court offense, so unless things change, it’s going to be all about continuing to make sure Georgetown’s offense is allowed the same freedom of movement they’ve had in the first half. Probably not a bad idea to anticipate that Georgetown will try to attack the basket more in the second half rather than settling for so many perimeter jumpers.

SECOND HALF:

19:40–Clearly conscious of his three fouls, Monroe allows McClure an easy path to the hoop for a little bunny of a jump-hook. If he plays that way for very long his foul count will soon be irrelevant.

17:54-Jason Clark pulls a first-half Duke, bringing the ball down in the paint and allowing his opponent to create a tie-up.

16:14-Interesting play here. After Smith fumbles the bounce-pass ahead by Henderson, Henderson picks it up on a scramble and is undercut by a diving Hoya defender. Rather than holding on to the ball and allowing himself to be the victim of an obvious take-down, Henderson, realizing he’s going to go down with the ball otherwise, throws the ball back over his head into the hands of an opponent, making it possible for Jim Burr to pass on the foul. It still should have been a foul, but Henderson was the victim of his own quick reaction there. Tough break for Gerald, who’s probably wishing Nolan had just caught the pass cleanly and finished the break.

15:09-Kyle Singler, dutifully validating my last entry. He comes up with a defensive rebound underneath and absorbs a substantial bump by GU’s Henry Sims. Singler then pivoted, looking for a teammate as he was falling out of bounds, but was unable to find one immediately, giving an extra beat for Sims’s push to cross into ‘obvious’ territory. If Singler had found Smith immediately for the pass this one probably goes uncalled. Good patience by Singler and a nice piece of officiating.

15:08-And now we’ve got controversy. After a relatively long discussion between official John Cahill and JTIII, Cahill administers the Hoya in-bounds play. Then, after only one second ticks off the clock, Cahill whips around and appears to assess a technical foul to Thompson. Two things strike me as weird here: 1) that what appears to be a calm conversation could turn so quickly into Thompson saying something completely unacceptable, and 2) Thompson’s reaction, another of the ‘instantaneous incredulity’ variety that always makes me think a mistake was made.-Okay, this makes more sense. Greg Anthony tells the audience that the technical foul was assessed to Monroe, who was sitting on the bench. Impossible to know what Monroe said, but what is completely knowable is how aware coaches are of the amount of rope given to bench players and managers when it comes to carping at officials: virtually zero. Greg Monroe is clearly a special talent, but his two big mistakes this game-his third foul and the technical-are almost completely attributable to youth.

Also worth noting is that if there were ANY doubt in the mind of John Cahill as to who uttered the magic words from the Georgetown bench, he’d have charged the technical foul to someone-ANYONE- other than the already-three-foul-laden MIP (most important player). Monroe said something he shouldn’t have (If I’m wrong here-and that would shock me in this particular case-it’s a major-league error in judgment by Mr. Cahill).

14:33-Singler with the virtually uncontested offensive board and put-back. I don’t want to be a broken record, but there’s very little to see here without Monroe in the game.

11:11-Monroe returns. Nobody wants to be the official that calls a fifth foul on anything less than something completely obvious.

10:39-Monroe doesn’t challenge Smith at all on penetration to the front of the rim. It’s an easy game to referee when the big men don’t challenge. Greg Anthony is right on point here with his commentary regarding Monroe’s inability to manage his foul trouble optimally.

9:24-The biggest difference between refereeing high school and college basketball is the speed at which the personality of the game can change. In the blink of an eye we go from steady-as-she-goes to having a very clever Omar Wattad grabbing the jersey of Kyle Singler and baiting him into swinging around with his arms (not closed-fist) and catching Wattad. Crafty play by Wattad, as the grab wasn’t easily visible to any official, in contrast to Singler’s obvious reaction.-Now Jim Burr is looking at the replay monitor, likely to see whether Singler threw a punch, which would mean automatic ejection. In real time it looked to me like there was no punch. Burr agrees, and an intentional foul is rightly called.

6:18-Wattad draws the charge from McClure, who was trying to make a move baseline with the shot-clock winding down. Following the contact there was very definite hesitation on the part of the official, who was probably a little bit unsure because A) Wattad wasn’t quite there, and B) McClure did extend the off arm. This decision of Sean Hull to go with the offensive foul could serve as the basis of a column on why stars seem to get the benefit of so many close calls. But for now, suffice it to say that if McClure had gone up with the jumper immediately rather than hesitating because he was in unfamiliar territory, he would have been much more likely to get the no-call or the blocking foul.

1:30-For anyone who thought, even for a moment, that Singler should have been called for his fifth foul against Wattad on Kyle’s driving lay-up at 4:44, two things: first, Wattad didn’t absorb nearly enough of a blow to draw the charge (he didn’t even to go the ground). Second, notice how easily Monroe could have been called for his fifth foul here on the grab following Scheyer’s offensive rebound. Really nice play-on by Jim Burr, who allowed the play to finish and saw Monroe completely pull back, allowing Scheyer total freedom to dribble out before Summers gave the intentional-unintentional foul.

Final Thoughts: Assuming as I do that Cahill got the technical foul right, the crew did a fantastic job of managing a tough game. There were long stretches, especially in the first half, that were really easy to call. The danger in those situations is that officials lose focus and quickly lose control when something weird happens.

In retrospect, Monroe really let the officials and Duke off the hook with the way he played defense after he got into foul trouble. I can’t recall a single play on which he was even close to picking up a foul on defense in the first half, even when he wasn’t in foul trouble. I recognize how difficult it is mentally, but the defensive game he was playing early was doing just fine at keeping him on the floor (all three of his first-half fouls were given on the offensive end). He’ll learn from this and make the officials and his opponents work harder the next time he’s in that situation.

The most critical point of the game from the crew’s standpoint was the Singler-Wattad nonsense in the second half. If Burr, Cahill and Hull hadn’t been right on top of the game things could have gotten really interesting in a bad way; but they maintained their intensity and focus and brought this one in for a safe landing.

The Playcaller can be reached at theplaycaller@gmail.com.